John beat



IO in the art to which it appertainsto-make and 2 Fig. 21M plan View of'one of the filling- .45 cords of twine or othersuitable material form 5c of the fabric, and after this strand is woven UNIT D S AT S PATENT. 1 OFFICE. F

JOHN'BRAKJR, or WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFfCOLUMBIA. I

FLA'G oaRUsH \MATTINGV AND METHOD-OF MAKING-THExSAM E.-'-.

SPECIFICATION forming'p art of Letters Patent No. 381.209, dared April j1'7;1888j.

Application filed August 4, 1886. Serial No. 209.957. (No specimens).

To all whom it may concern:

',Be it known'that I, JOHN BRAY, Jr.,-a citi zen of the United States, residing at Washing" ton,-in the District of Columbia, have invented 5 certain newand useful Improvements in Flag or Rush Matting and Method of Making the Same; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact'deseription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled use the same. V I

My invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of matting or floor-coverings;

The object of my invention .is to provide a I 5 cheap and durable matting or floor-covering from river flags, rushes, or other like material. My invention consists in the method of weaving a matting from river flags, rushes,.or other similar material, and in the matting thereby produced, as hereinafter set forth and claimed. r Referring to the drawings,'Figure 1 is a top or plan view of a portion of thefabric, show ing the manner in which the filling is inserted.

pieces. Fig. 3, is also a top or plan view of one of the filling-pieces with the end bent back upon the main body. I

In carrying out my invention I take river 3,0 flags of the genus Irisor Acorns and rushes of the genus Juncus, the length of which will not allow or admit of its being woven twice across the warp of the material, and while they are green or freshly cut I'split them from the bob- 3 5 tom to the top ,into'as many pieces or into as small strips as may be desired so that when I they aredried they will curl up in a round or practically round body, which, owing to the difference in the thickness of the rushes 0 between thebottom and the top, will produce strands thicker at one end than at the other. These piecesor strands of rushes when properly prepared are woven into the fabric as'the' weft, as indicated at A, while the strands or the warp B. v

In weaving, the rushes forming the weft'are laidinto the warp, so the small end will project over the side about one-third the width the thin projecting end is foldedlbaek onto the body of the rush and "around the outer strand of the warp, so .as to form a perfect. selvage, as vshown at a. p v rush is then placed in the warp, the large end The next. strand of being reversed, so as to lie'jo n.-the folded end of the previous strand, and its'smaller end folded back into the warp, as in the former instance, thus producinga body of uniform thickness and density, and thus preventingone side of the matting'i'rom being'fuller than the other.

" The river flags and "rushes which are -so abundant in the marshes and banks of our rivers are well adapted for Inaking'the mat- I ting or floor-covering. They grow of suffi-. 1

cient length to serve as the weft of matting I I of ordinary width and allow onezend' to'be turnedback one-third or one-half the-width of the fabric, and besides this, the rushes are tough and strong and enable me'to make a cheap, strong, and durable covering for floors and other uses.

The rushesor strands forming the weft may or with any desired shade or color, and woven r regularlyin stripes or indiscriminately, asmay suit the taste.

It will be noticed that the ends of the strands forming the-weft form the selvage'for holding the outer warp in position, as already stated, and that the usual practiceof tying the ends of the wefts is obviated. I I may use the narrowi-leaved palm, com- 31101115 called p or dded Wood '83 in the manufacture of the matting, and these substances I consider as coming within the spirit of my invention What I claim, andjdesi're to secure by Let ters Patent, is-"- v p 1. The method herein described of weav-' sing. a fabric from tapering strandsof. flags or I rushes, the sameconsisting in arranging the strands alternately withv their thicker-ends in opposite directions as a weft, and folding over and interweaving the smaller endswiththe' warpat each edge of the fabric,"so' as warm a selvage therefor at each side ofuniforrn thick ness, substantially as specified.

. 2. A mattingcomposedof strands offlags-Ioo 'be colored or stained in any suitablegmanner, 7

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN BRAY, JR.

Witnesses:

SOHUYLER DURYEE, J. E. ROCKWELL. 

